Libu
Encyclopedia
The Libu were an ancient Berber
tribe, from which the name Libya derives.
Their occupation of ancient Libya
is first attested in ancient Egyptian
texts from the New Kingdom
, especially from the Ramesside Period. The earliest occurrence is in a Ramses II inscription. There were no vowels in the Egyptian script. The name Libu is written as LBW or RBW in Egyptian hieroglyphs. In the Great Karnak Inscription Merneptah
describes how hostilities between Egypt
and Libya broke out and how the Libyans were defeated . Ramses III defeated the Libyans in the 5th year of his reign, but six years later the Libyans joined the Meshwesh
and invaded the western Delta and were defeated again . Libu appears as an ethnic name on the Merneptah Stele
, also known as the Israel Stele Afterward, the name appeared repeatedly in other pharaonic records
.
This name Libu was taken over by the Greeks of Cyrenaica
, who co-existed with them. Geographically, the name of this tribe was adopted by the Greeks for "Cyrenaica
" as well as for northwestern Africa in general. Later, the name appeared in the Hebrew language
, written in the Bible
as Lehabim and Lubim
, indicating the ethnic population and the geographic territory as well.
In the neo-Punic inscriptions, Libu was written as Lby for the masculine
noun, and Lbt for the feminine
noun of Libyan. The name supposedly was used as an ethnic name in those inscriptions.
Laguatan was the name later Roman authors used to refer to the nomadic tribes in the Cyrenaica area. They have been described as primarily raiders and nomadic, but others consider them a settled group who also raided.
During the Islamic Middle Ages, Ibn Khaldun
recorded that the Libu were known as the Lawata.
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
tribe, from which the name Libya derives.
Their occupation of ancient Libya
Ancient Libya
The Latin name Libya referred to the region west of the Nile Valley, generally corresponding to modern Northwest Africa. Climate changes affected the locations of the settlements....
is first attested in ancient Egyptian
Egyptian language
Egyptian is the oldest known indigenous language of Egypt and a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. Written records of the Egyptian language have been dated from about 3400 BC, making it one of the oldest recorded languages known. Egyptian was spoken until the late 17th century AD in the...
texts from the New Kingdom
New Kingdom
The New Kingdom of Egypt, also referred to as the Egyptian Empire is the period in ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt....
, especially from the Ramesside Period. The earliest occurrence is in a Ramses II inscription. There were no vowels in the Egyptian script. The name Libu is written as LBW or RBW in Egyptian hieroglyphs. In the Great Karnak Inscription Merneptah
Merneptah
Merneptah was the fourth ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. He ruled Egypt for almost ten years between late July or early August 1213 and May 2, 1203 BC, according to contemporary historical records...
describes how hostilities between Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Libya broke out and how the Libyans were defeated . Ramses III defeated the Libyans in the 5th year of his reign, but six years later the Libyans joined the Meshwesh
Meshwesh
The Meshwesh were an ancient Libyan tribe from beyond Cyrenaica where the Libu and Tehenu lived according to Egyptian references and who were probably of Central Berber ethnicity. Herodotus placed them in Tunisia and said of them to be sedentary farmers living in settled permanent houses as the...
and invaded the western Delta and were defeated again . Libu appears as an ethnic name on the Merneptah Stele
Merneptah Stele
The Merneptah Stele — also known as the Israel Stele or Victory Stele of Merneptah — is an inscription by the Ancient Egyptian king Merneptah , which appears on the reverse side of a granite stele erected by the king Amenhotep III...
, also known as the Israel Stele Afterward, the name appeared repeatedly in other pharaonic records
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
.
This name Libu was taken over by the Greeks of Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...
, who co-existed with them. Geographically, the name of this tribe was adopted by the Greeks for "Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...
" as well as for northwestern Africa in general. Later, the name appeared in the Hebrew language
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, written in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
as Lehabim and Lubim
Lubims
The Lubims in the Old Testament, meaning the inhabitants of a thirsty or scorched land; the Libyans, an African nation under tribute to Egypt . Their territory was apparently near Egypt. They were probably the Mizraite Lehabim....
, indicating the ethnic population and the geographic territory as well.
In the neo-Punic inscriptions, Libu was written as Lby for the masculine
Masculine
Masculine or masculinity, normally refer to qualities positively associated with men.Masculine may also refer to:*Masculine , a grammatical gender*Masculine cadence, a final chord occurring on a strong beat in music...
noun, and Lbt for the feminine
Grammatical gender
Grammatical gender is defined linguistically as a system of classes of nouns which trigger specific types of inflections in associated words, such as adjectives, verbs and others. For a system of noun classes to be a gender system, every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be...
noun of Libyan. The name supposedly was used as an ethnic name in those inscriptions.
Laguatan was the name later Roman authors used to refer to the nomadic tribes in the Cyrenaica area. They have been described as primarily raiders and nomadic, but others consider them a settled group who also raided.
During the Islamic Middle Ages, Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldūn or Ibn Khaldoun was an Arab Tunisian historiographer and historian who is often viewed as one of the forerunners of modern historiography, sociology and economics...
recorded that the Libu were known as the Lawata.
Further reading
- Mattingly, D. J. (1983) "The Laguatan: A Libyan Tribal Confederation in the Late Roman Empire" Libyan Studies: Annual report of the Society for Libyan Studies 14: pp. 96-108